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From: Lillybooh
Date: 12-27-2006, 06:09 PM (1 of 12)
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Hi I have finally done my first embroidery design this Christmas. I had many problems but learned alot. Two key points-make sure your bobbin is full before you start a 29000 stitch image and remember to replace the bobbin cover before stitching. Here are my questions. 1) What are good online sources for material and supplies. At this point Walmart and Jo-annes are my only sources. What are the embroidery "must haves"...I want to stock my sewing box. I also learned to have needles, after breaking 4 in less than 20 minutes. I am using the Singer CE-100, it comes with autopunch software, and I haven't been overly impressed with it. I have seen software that allows you to change the stitch pattern/texture. Autopunch only does a straight fill stitch. I would also like to do fonts, this machine only came with 2 basic fonts. I was considering purchasing the Singer Hyerfont software for 149.00, but I was wondering if the money could be better applied to a digitizing and font software. I downloaded the Embird trial but it expired befor4e I tested it and I couldn't re-install it Lastly, I was watching Simply Quilts, a guest was on the show using what I believed to be a Bernina, the software was very impressive because she could draw her design, mirror image it and alter the stitch angles, I would like a software that allow me more control over the design. Thanks...Paula |
User: Lillybooh
Member since: 10-26-2006 Total posts: 13 |
From: paroper
Date: 12-27-2006, 07:01 PM (2 of 12)
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Unfortunately, embroidery is not a cheap hobby (or even a cheap investment for a small business). The machine, you will quickly learn is the least of your expense. I pretty much agree about the software purchase. You can spend tons of money on software, trying more, moving up, etc. The first thing you need to do is to decide the type of embroidery you want to do. If you want to do just monograms and some lettering, then the Monogram Wizard Plus can be a dream. If you plan to digitize then the field is a little different. I have the Artista Software Designer Plus V5. It retails somewhere around $2000. I can't tell you exactly what the V5 retails for because I bought it as an update ($500 added to the $2000 from the purchase of my V4) but I believe it sells for around $2000. It is near the top of home software. It and I think the Generations software were designed for home use by the Wilcom company which is one of the leaders in professional embroidery. Although I've never had a reason to out and out price it, the Wilcom software is said to retail in the area of $16,000 but the home versions have many of the same attributes. The Bernina version's biggest plus is that you can take a design done in Artista (or fonts) and you can take them down to tiny tiny or up as large as you would like with no loss of quality. The Designer Plus also has some nice quilting programming, cross stitch, mediocre photo editing (not the best but fair), it accepts all true type fonts that are installed to your Windows computer. It does auto digitizing, allows your to do your own digitizing, allows for scanned items, and does a slow redraw of the stitchout of your design, allowing you to spot errors before you actually stitch it out. It also converts and writs to most of the home computer formats. It is a neat package. That being said, there are some very good packages out there. Embird cannot be totally discounted. It allows you to add to your program as you become more comfortable with the program and your skills increase. There are many digitizers using this program and selling their designs. The smartest thing to do is to make a list of what you want your software to do and then go shopping and ask for recommendations from the group. There is also a group called patternreview (forum) which rates and gives recommendations for software, you may also want to take a look at their recommendations. I feel the same way about thread that I do about software. Find a good quality brand thread and stay with it. You can spend a fortune just randomly buying thread and not have anything to show for it but partly used spools that don't go together. Decide first if you are interested in Rayon or Polyester. Rayon is the prettiest but not as strong and does not withstand bleaching. If you are planning to stay with the machine you have, you can probably use Coats or Sulky just fine, however, if you plan to advance to a faster, larger, more expensive machine, my recommendation is to skip this layer and go straight for the better 1000 yd cones of thread and buy a good brand because faster machines do not handle these threads well. If you do this, you will not have as much waste and you'll always have what you want color wise. Also, if you move up with your machine, you will have thread that you can still use. My favorite thread is Isacord (poly only) but Madera, A/R (Anston Robin I think), and Marathon are all very good threads. If you check the thread in this section on embroidery thread you'll find good links and information. My other recommendation about thread is that you start out by buying enough to do a few designs you are interested in and then fill in. Get a listing of the threads available in your brand and check them off as you buy so that you do not duplicate the threads. Embroidery is like painting and each design can have a lot more colors in it that you realize. Filling in this way gives you threads that match well and can be used together easily. If you start out buying with a system, it is just so much easier to fill in everything. I have all the Isacord colors which are poly...it took me about 9 months to get all of them. I just ordered the 1100 yard spool collection of Madera Rayon from Brothers Mall2 for $720...that is 356 spools of their thread in full size cones complete with a multi drawered storage chest...huge investment, but an excellent price. The poly thread is less expensive and can be purchased at Allstitch.net. Storage is the biggest problem with thread. Do not expose your thread to light and dust because it will deteriorate. Allstitch.net has good prices on needles for your machine. You should be able to buy 100 for a good price. Each design in embroidery includes a lot more stitches than normal sewing so you use a LOT of needles. buying by the 100 is an excellent way to go. pam
Bernina 200e, Artista V5 Designer Plus, Explorations, Magic Box, Bernina 2000DE & 335 Bernette Serger, Bernina 1530 Sewing Machine, Bernina 1300 DC Overlock (with coverstitch) |
User: paroper
Member since: 02-03-2004 Total posts: 3775 |
From: Tom Land
Date: 12-27-2006, 07:52 PM (3 of 12)
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Pam has covered the subject very well (shes pretty smart for a girl). I would strongly advise against buying software or anything that can only be used with that machine. As Pam pointed out the machine is the smaller portion of the investment you will soon have and when you get another machine you will have to start over. If you get a full blown embroidery software package as Pam described rather than getting the programs one at a time you will save money and frustration. Make sure the software is multiformat so it can be used with any future machines and make sure the upgrades are free. As Pam pointed out the upgrades can get expensive. Most importantly make sure you will have someone to go to for help. One reason Autopunch is so limited is that Singer knows it has to be simple enough to be used without much support as their dealership base continues to rapidly shrink(although there is a software support line that should be listed in your book). Your better softwares are sold by companies that require you actually go into the store to purchase it. This is their way of making sure you have someone close enough to give you all the support you need. I would not buy any software over the internet unless you are so bored that you want to spend hours and hours trying to figure it out. Hyperfont is a good program but still very limited and cannot be used with any other machine. Have fun or don't do it, Tom
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User: Tom Land
Member since: 09-21-2005 Total posts: 514 |
From: Chrysantha
Date: 12-27-2006, 09:50 PM (4 of 12)
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It's Robinson-Anton.. www.robinsonanton.com I use RA, Madiera, Admelody (Chinese colorfast rayon, it's beautiful and cheap for the amount of thread...sold only through www.bfc-creations.com Admelody also has poly) Mettler and Guttermann. You also need a large amt of stabilizer, needles of different sizes, fabric to test (muslin or cheap flannel). Some sticky stabilizer or spray (505 or Sulky KK2000). GOOD embroidery scissors. LOTS of bobbins ( we all love the prewound, but they don't work for all applications) Fabric markers (for when we make mistakes and need to cover them up (they're color fast). There are thousands of sites onlline to buy designs, no matter what format you use. They often have sales, coupons, Yahoo Groups (embroidery, free, discounts, BOGO's and pre-buys.(at discounts)) www.bfc-creations.com www.stitcherymall.com www.oregonpatchworks.com www.secretsof.com www.windstarembroidery.com www.elsasdesigns.com www.hatchedinafrica.com www.carolyndesigns.com www.designsbypetro.com www.astitchahalf.com www.embroidererseye.com www.catswhiskers.com www.kennycreations.com I buy from all these places, they are SAFE and no problems with trademark infringement. (beware buying designs off EBay. They are gennerally stolen, made overseas, empty Disc's, and trademark/copyrighted material that if you get caught using it here in the U.S. is a $50,000 fine.) Chrys
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User: Chrysantha
Member since: 09-06-2002 Total posts: 2414 
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From: paroper
Date: 12-27-2006, 10:21 PM (5 of 12)
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I think your machine will take the prewound bobbins with no problem but not all machines do so check your manual/dealer to make sure that it is not a problem with your machine. Personally, I'm cheap so I wind my own...just keep 2-3 black, 3-4 white available at the beginning of each project then I rotate the bobbins as I go. I can get about 4 million stitches out of one large spool of $12 bobbin thread. I'm lucky enough that my machine will wind bobbins and stitch at the same time but I like to just keep a few handy.
pam
Bernina 200e, Artista V5 Designer Plus, Explorations, Magic Box, Bernina 2000DE & 335 Bernette Serger, Bernina 1530 Sewing Machine, Bernina 1300 DC Overlock (with coverstitch) |
User: paroper
Member since: 02-03-2004 Total posts: 3775 |
From: mamadus
Date: 12-28-2006, 04:35 AM (6 of 12)
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As far as software is concerned, Embird is a pretty good place to start... you get a lot of bang for your buck. Unfortunately a lot of dealers won't carry it, because they can't mark it up like other softwares. For about $100 you can get basic Embird which will allow you to edit your designs, convert formats, change colors, resize, edit stitchpoints, take a piece of this design and combine it with a piece of that design... As I said, it does a lot for what it costs. And there are a LOT of yahoo groups for support on how to use it, although its very self explanatory and quite intuitive. and later on, if you feel you need it or are interested, you can add the digitizing tools or font engine, or the cross stitch plug in or sfumato, which allows you to take a photo and convert it into stitches. As far as autodigitizing software, I don't know of any that will produce great results, There are too many variables taht just can't be covered with autodigitizing... Digitizing with any software has quite a learning curve and requires a lot of practice... another thread to consider is ARC, sold by melcomart... Most of my threads are ARC, Marathon, and Madeira.. MO life is too short, not to explore
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User: mamadus
Member since: 12-31-2004 Total posts: 492 
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From: Lillybooh
Date: 12-28-2006, 10:23 AM (7 of 12)
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A BIG THANK YOU Thanks for your responses. I guess I have a little more research to do. Illness forced me to leave my employment 3 years ago, so funds are limited, that's why I chose the machine I went with. I think Embird is more in my price range, I will also check out the Monogram wizard. I like the advice on not using a machine specific software, I have been using poly R/A thread Mini Kings, I was tempted to buy Treadart or Tread design 96 spools, cheap on ebay. But I'll have to rethink this. I also saw cheap tearaway stablizer. I need to practice but the cost of supplies made me hesitant to keep stitching designs I am not wishing to enter a serious business venture, butI would like to be able to turn a little profit or atleast cover my supplies. I want to do embroidered "foo-foo" dog items. I know it may seem silly to some, but with the name "Paw-la" and P.E.T. for intials, it's somewhat fitting. I was green to embroidery when I got my machine. I thought you could only use cards with the machines and I wanted control over the design. I didn't know about digitizing software, but I am still learning and not diappointed. I have no idea how I stumbled upon this site, but I am so glad I did. Thanks Again |
User: Lillybooh
Member since: 10-26-2006 Total posts: 13 |
From: plrlegal
Date: 12-28-2006, 01:05 PM (8 of 12)
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Lillybooh I have a CE-100 and I embroider anything and everything I want to embroider on it. T-shirts, sweatshirts, table linens, whatever and I've haven't had any problems with my machine. I went with the CE-100 because I'm not into embroidering everything I wear or that my dh wears and I just wanted a machine to play with and didn't want to invest $6,000 or so. My dh offered to buy me the Pfaff 2140 now 2170 and I said no. I have been using Coats & Clark polyester in it and it has done fine. All of my boo boos on this machine have been operator error. However, my dh purchased me two sets of Isacord thread for Christmas and I am in stitching heaven with it. You have to have a pretty good collection of stabilizers (tear away, cut away, water soluble, etc.) which tend to be a little pricey but once you get your supplies built up you just have to replenish as you go. Good luck with your machine and once you become knowledgeable and proficient with the CE-100 you may want to move up to a higher end machine. Patsy Patsy
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User: plrlegal
Member since: 05-19-2001 Total posts: 318 |
From: Genoa
Date: 12-29-2006, 09:36 AM (9 of 12)
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I am thinking of buying a Janome 350e for embroidery only. Especially monograms since it has all that I need as part of the initial machine. If I decide to do some designs I will want to use my computer to load the flash card. What software will I need to convert to the proper format? Any advice on this or a different machine? Thanks, Genoa |
User: Genoa
Member since: 12-28-2006 Total posts: 8 |
From: paroper
Date: 12-29-2006, 09:45 AM (10 of 12)
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The Janome is an excellent machine by all reports. I have not actually used it but the 300, it's ancestor is used by an awful lot of very happy people. It's stitch field is rthe right to comfortably do a lot of designs and will kind of take you out of the novice area. Embird would work fine for you if the machine does not come with some sort of starter software (some do). You need software to merge designs (put your letters together) as well as accept/change formats and transmit to your machine. Some software comes will a lot of fonts. It is usually the fancy fonts that are hardest to get. Some software will even adopt any fonts that are put into your windows operating system. Through the 31st (I think), Embroidery Library, emblibrary.com has alphabets on sale for half price and their prices are always reasonable....just a thought. I got a couple of 4 inch Greek appliques for $1 regular price that are 50 cents each because of the sale. pam
Bernina 200e, Artista V5 Designer Plus, Explorations, Magic Box, Bernina 2000DE & 335 Bernette Serger, Bernina 1530 Sewing Machine, Bernina 1300 DC Overlock (with coverstitch) |
User: paroper
Member since: 02-03-2004 Total posts: 3775 |
From: Genoa
Date: 12-29-2006, 11:32 AM (11 of 12)
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Thanks for the info. The 300e was demonstrated to me and it had all of the monogram letters that I could possibly want. I will look into the software to convert my computer screen graphic to the format for it to embroider. I need some suggestions for the right software. What is Embird ? I looked it up and I didn't quite understand what it does and how much it is. Thanks, Genoa |
User: Genoa
Member since: 12-28-2006 Total posts: 8 |
From: paroper
Date: 12-30-2006, 04:04 PM (12 of 12)
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Software is used to combine designs and designs with lettering, enlarge, decrease sizes, change colors, edit and make visible color changes, change design formats and a host of other tasks. The amount of versitility that you need in software depends on what you want to do. Embird is often a good place to start because you can add functions as you develop your skills, leaving behind unnecessary portions of the software (what you are not interested in using). Since you buy the initial software for a reasonable cost and then add the plug ins it also can be an economical way to start. Many people, with added plug-ins take this all the way to commercial digitizing. There is a host of programs out there. Embird is not necessarily the best but it is excellent for the money. However, if it does not cover your interests, it is better to skip this step and go to a different software rather than collect a lot of software to get where you want to go. It can be a very expensive investment and if you are not selective you can actually end up spending more money on software than just going to the top. pam
Bernina 200e, Artista V5 Designer Plus, Explorations, Magic Box, Bernina 2000DE & 335 Bernette Serger, Bernina 1530 Sewing Machine, Bernina 1300 DC Overlock (with coverstitch) |
User: paroper
Member since: 02-03-2004 Total posts: 3775 |
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